Job processing times reduced by 6x (3 minutes to 35 seconds)
Job throughput increased 3x (2,500 to 7,500 jobs per fortnight)
Significant cost savings ($414,000 per year in productivity benefits)
SA Power Networks use Autodesk Vault to manage and store all engineering and associated data, whether it's a new asset, a modification or a whole new substation.
The adoption of Autodesk Vault lifecycles enabled SA Power Networks to digitise paper-based workflows to an electronic document management process. This significantly improved traditional and unsustainable manual processes such as print-outs and approvals, substantially reduced errors, and enabled more seamless sharing.
These lifecycles allow teams to move designs from 'work in progress' to 'check', and then to 'authorisation', while automatically handling their sign-off, watermarking, creating viewable's (PDF files), and file distribution.
The automation involved virtual machines called 'job processors' which would access jobs posted to job queues and then schedule various tasks in an automated way.
Over the years, the lifecycles grew to 12 different document lifecycles. With the increased demand in jobs, significant bottlenecks occurred due to having six job processors running on a slow third-party tool.
Leigh Menzel, Application Specialist
Autodesk Vault Professional has enabled SA Power Networks to:
Securely store engineering designs and associated data
Keep automatic history of changes
Ensure the latest revision of files is accessible by all users
Digitise workflows and abandon paper-based processes
Promote seamless collaboration
The Digital Engineering Assets team also saw an opportunity to speed up a third-party job processor SA Power Networks used with Vault Professional (possible with Autodesk Vault Professional's open API allowing further automation).
The task involved team and intra-team collaboration, and strong collaboration across the business, which has resulted in:
Job processing times being six times faster: The average processing time for each job has plummeted from more than three minutes to approximately 35 seconds.
Three times more jobs being processed: Teams are now posting more than 7,500 jobs per fortnight. Previously they were averaging 2,500.
Significant cost savings: The business has been able to remove the third-party tool which, aside from reducing complexity, is saving the business AUD$16,500 per year in licensing costs.
Centralised storage of LOG and CONFIG files.
More options to wind processors up and down in Azure to generate future savings.
Gary Maguire, Digital Engineering Asset Manager
Across the board, users are saying the jobs are processing faster and better. The reduction in bottlenecks means wait times are no longer an issue.
SA Power Networks exemplifies how embracing digital engineering and partnering with Autodesk can transform operational efficiency and drive significant cost savings. By standardising on Autodesk tools, the company has not only streamlined its workflows but also enhanced collaboration and information sharing across departments. The digital Engineering Apps team's initiative in redeveloping Autodesk Vault's backend environment stands as a testament to their commitment to innovation and continuous improvement.
SA Power Networks continues to leverage Autodesk's cutting-edge solutions to maintain its leadership in the energy sector and deliver reliable electricity services to South Australia.
